HONG KONG: Joseph Roche, an astrophysicist from Trinity College in Dublin, revealed he volunteered for the Mars One mission because he loved the thought of becoming one of the first interplanetary scientists.
But now, writing in the Guardian, Joseph called for the organisers to admit the mission will never happen and instead divert their support to other exciting and more viable space missions.
An MIT study into Mars One raised various concerns with the habitation and life support technology, yet Joseph claimed the organisers of the mission didn’t once seek advice from the team of experts.
Last month the mission’s organisers compiled a list of the top 10 candidates for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, ranking each finalist using “Mars One supporter points”.
“These points serve only to show how much each supporter has donated to Mars One,” Joseph wrote.
Joseph claimed the participants were selected on their ability to raise funds for Mars One and were sent a list of “tips and tricks” for dealing with the press – they were even asked to donate 75% of the profit they made from publicity to the mission.
“I think that the shortcomings of the selection process, coupled with their unwillingness to engage and collaborate with the scientific community, means that the time might have come for Mars One to acknowledge the implausibility of this particular venture.”
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